Whatever This Is
by Stablerfan
Summary: 'The only thing Fin knew, was that Olivia's words were irrational, wrong, out of character. There had to be a reason...and as rationality was out of the window, he decided to secretly meet with Munch as soon as the bizarre Stabler Bashing Session was over.' Warning: Contains clones. An evil villain. Memory wiping. Cryogenics. A sudden and terrifically convenient divorce.
1. Chapter 1

**Set early season 17 **this is a parody** With thanks to Joanie.**

 **Olivia's out of character words as she slates Elliot have an explanation...so what** _ **is**_ **wrong with Sergeant Benson? Kathy suddenly remembers that she hasn't seen Elliot for, oh...** _ **four years**_ **, and asks SVU for help, but Fin notices Liv's strange disinterest.**

 **Munch and Fin soon uncover the shocking truth about Sergeant Benson!**

 **Warning: Contains clones. An evil villain. Memory wiping. Cryogenics. A sudden and terrifically convenient divorce.**

 **Can we fix it?**

 **OCTOBER 2015, SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, SERGEANT BENSON'S OFFICE.**

Olivia looked up in surprise as her door burst open to reveal Fin, looking none too happy.

"Liv, you're not gonna believe this..Kathy Stabler is here...she.."

Fin was interrupted as Kathy walked swiftly past him and stood in front of Olivia's desk, her eyes locking onto Sergeant Benson with an intense determination.

Olivia stood, staring in confusion at the flustered woman in front of her.

"Kath-y Sta-bler," she said slowly, the name sounding strange yet familiar as it rolled from her tongue.

"Olivia - what's wrong with you? Of course I'm Kathy Stabler!" Kathy said, shaking her head in slight confusion at Olivia's reaction.

"Elliot's wife!.. _Yes!_...wow, I had almost forgotten about you...and.. _all of your children,_ " laughed Olivia as she pondered the absurdity of the situation, "How is Eli? The baby I helped save, and deliver - oh yes...I held him moments after he was born...I totally forgot about him!"

Fin frowned, wondering why Olivia, who had held Elliot's son moments after he was born, never even thought about him these days. Shaking his head, he decided to file that under 'crazy shit that's been going on around here lately' and revisit it later.

"Eli's fine... _but Olivia_...something awful has happened...I need your help.." Kathy said.

"What happened?" Olivia asked.

"It's Elliot...he's... **missing**!" Kathy said, her voice rising dramatically.

 _"Missing..._ Elliot...ok, why are you telling me that? He walked out my life years ago, he definitely hasn't so much as even called me, or emailed me, or even _thought_ about me, I'm not even a blip on his radar, not even a passing thought, I am pretty much nothing to him….I mean...why would you be telling me?"

" _Oh Olivia_ , that is total bull. Listen to yourself!" Kathy said. "He didn't call you because something was wrong... _come to think of it._..why didn't **you** try a bit harder to reach him? Olivia, look; his disappearance is very strange….as soon as I realised he was missing I felt SO bad for not noticing sooner - but then I felt better because it's not like you did either and you're a detective!"

"Ok," said Olivia, with a defeated sigh, "when did you realise he was missing?"

"Well," Kathy coughed, her cheeks tinging pink in embarrassment, "I realised three weeks ago...that he hadn't come by for a while to see Eli...I mean we got divorced so it's not like I didn't notice he wasn't home or anything."

"How long?" Olivia asked.

"Well...about four and a half years…" Kathy said, looking away in shame.

Olivia rounded her desk and stood directly in front of Kathy, her hands gripping her shoulders tightly as she stared into her eyes.

"You mean to tell me your husband has been missing for four and a half years - _and you only just noticed_?"

 _Fin silently observed the exchange between the two women, and felt a pang of concern at Olivia's words. Why was she discussing Elliot as if he was someone she didn't even know?_

"Yes... _sorry_...I figured there was some kind of reason, but then I bumped into Munch - he had so many ideas about where Elliot might be...I figured I would just tell you...because if Munch was right and he really has been abducted by...well... _aliens_..." she paused, the ridiculousness of that notion striking her.

Olivia exhaled sharply, dropping her hands from Kathy's delusional shoulders, "I seriously doubt he has been abducted by aliens...but if you haven't seen him for over four years….well I guess you should report him missing," shrugged Olivia.

"Kathy...you didn't notice he hadn't come to see Eli since 2011?" Fin asked, stunned by the words of both women.

"No...I just...didn't notice...I kinda forgot about him, I know that sounds strange. It was like; he wasn't there and every memory I had of him just left my mind. It was weird, I felt a bit crazy, that's why I talked to Munch. Then three weeks ago I was replaying a home movie of Eli...and I suddenly remembered him and then I thought...I haven't seen him for a really long time...oops!"

"Maureen, and the others forgot about their dad too?" Fin asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I guess we all did…." she said before leaning closer to Olivia and lowering her voice to a whisper, as she cast a brief paranoid glance at Fin. "Is Munch right Olivia?" she whispered, " _Is it aliens_?"

Fin sighed and turned his head toward the window, pretending not to hear as he tried to suppress a laugh at Kathy's words.

Olivia blinked, and looked at her gravely, "No. There are no aliens Kathy, it is utterly insane of you to even suggest that."

Fin shook his head once again, confused at the lack of concern Olivia seemed to be showing, "Look Liv, if something bad has happened to Stabler, we should open a case, work it, we owe him, let's face it - the worst crime of all...is that nobody even noticed he was missing!"

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt, we won't find him anyway if he has been gone for _this_ long, so let's just work it alongside our other open cases, just as a courtesy," Olivia said.

"Liv, seriously _\- what the fuck_?" said Fin shaking his head. "Why does this not bother you? And while we're at it - how could you not even realise Elliot was missing? I mean how was he last time you saw him?"

Olivia quickly adverted her eyes from Fin and Kathy, staring hard at the wall as she battled to recall the date "well...I haven't seen him since the shooting in the squad room…so..2011?"

"What?" Fin and Kathy said in shocked unison.

"You didn't go and see him?" Fin said in astonishment.

"W _ell_ , no. I mean I know I left a few messages.." Olivia said.

" _Liv_ ," said Fin, "I just assumed you went to see him. I mean he was your partner and best friend for over twelve years...you just left a few messages? That's it? **What's wrong with you**?"

"I...I don't know Fin..it sounds crazy..I'm not really sure why I didn't go and see him..." Olivia said as she sat down heavily on her chair, "Why do I feel so confused?"

Fin sighed and moved closer, standing next to Olivia as he cast a wary glance at Kathy.

"Something's seriously messed up with you Liv...with Elliot's whole family...and I guess the rest of us too...no one checked up on him after the shooting, _not one of us_."

"Call Munch, _seriously_...the alien thing does make some kind of sense…." Kathy suggested.

Olivia looked up at Kathy and shooked her head, "There. Are. No. Aliens. Kathy, _Please_ stop talking to Munch!"

"Well, my role here is done, I've imparted the news, if you find Elliot, let me know. I've moved on with my life, remarried, so there's no way that Elliot and I would reconcile, but now the kids have remembered him, they kinda wanna see him."

As Kathy Stabler turned and left, wrapping up her role in the situation, _and_ her marriage, quite neatly, while leaving Elliot a free man, _should anyone be bothered to actually find him and check that he is ok_ ; Olivia and Fin were left staring at each other in amazement.

"Can you believe this? It's crazy Liv," said Fin.

"I know, I mean...he's divorced!"

"No Liv, _focus_ , Kathy and her children forgot who Elliot was and he's been missing for over four years?"

"Yes," Olivia coughed in embarrassment, "That too…"

 _After Fin convinced her that Munch really was the only person qualified to lead the investigation, Olivia wasted no time in calling him. Munch was more than happy to assist, and began to offer Olivia several possible explanations... before she eventually had enough and hung up on him._

 _She knew it wouldn't take him long...in under an hour he was standing in her office, watching the intrigued faces of the squad as they gave him their full attention._

"Olivia has briefed you on what we know so far - this is a serious investigation, one of our own has been potentially abducted...whether by the CIA or another covert government agency…" Munch said.

Carisi glanced at Amanda, his intrigue practically bursting out of him, despite her merely rebutting his enthusiasm with a roll of her eyes and a shake of her head.

Feeling shot down, he returned his attention back to Munch, the man made sense...this could be big...this could be exciting...working with Munch could be the start of something major… he held his breath,consumed by a mixture of fascination and excitement, waiting for Munch's next words...

"...or perhaps aliens."

Carisi's face fell at Munch's words, and he tried not to look at Amanda, not wanting to see her mocking laugh at his easy acceptance of Munch's theories.

"If Detective Stabler hasn't contacted anyone since his divorce, and no one has been able to reach him...although admittedly only Sergeant Benson bothered to try...and let's face it, _she didn't try very hard at all_ …"

Olivia coughed, and glared at Munch, who shrugged his shoulders and continued.

"Then we have to assume he _can't_ contact us...so what are the only workable scenarios in the pretty unbelievable mess?" Munch said.

"Can we go back to the CIA idea…?" Carisi suggested.

"Maybe he just left - I mean Olivia, you told Nick how you couldn't really live your life to the fullest

when he was here. So he was pretty much a weight holding you down, stopping you from blooming, reaching your goals, being happy?" Amanda said.

Amanda glanced around the room sheepishly as she suddenly realised that every pair of eyes in the room had fallen on her.

"Hey, sorry guys, I'm just calling it like I see it. I wasn't dissing the guy - I never met him, I don't know him, but it's clear from the few times Liv's mentioned him that he's a total bastard, am I right?"

Amanda glanced around the room, Carisi was engrossed in the conversation, taking it all in, Olivia stood with her arms crossed appearing evasive, and Fin stared at them all, shaking his head in disbelief.

"You do have a point Amanda - I mean surely we all remember that Elliot was a bit of bastard, and basically stopping me from having a life - so we have to consider that he probably doesn't care and ...well, just left. No big deal, we just forget about him and move on right?" Olivia said with a shrug.

Fin exchanged a glance with Munch who frowned, puzzled by Olivia's words. Something was seriously wrong with Olivia Benson and he didn't have a clue what it was. He was out of rational reasons for Elliot's sudden, uncharacteristic departure, and couldn't think of a single rational, realistic reason for Olivia Benson slating Elliot Stabler this way.

The only thing Fin knew, was that Olivia's words were irrational, wrong, out of character. There _had_ to be a reason...and as rationality was out of the window, he decided to secretly meet with Munch as soon as the bizarre _Stabler Bashing Session_ was over.

 **In chapter 2 - Fin can't believe he's listening to Munch's crazy theory about Olivia. Munch tells us about the evil villain responsible for the odd things that have been going on at SVU, and enlist some help to find El, and fix this shocking mess. Will they find Elliot? Where** ** _is_** **he? What's the deal with Olivia these days?**


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter is for melonian4life and Writersrefinery.**

 **Forgot the disclaimer - I don't own these characters, if I did, things would be a _whole_ lot different - but don't get me started on that...**

 **With thanks to Joanie. :-)**

 **A BAR SOMEWHERE NEARISH TO MUNCH'S PLACE.**

Fin sat facing Munch, a beer in his hand as he gave a quick glance around the room before meeting Munch's amused eyes.

"This is so messed up, but I gotta talk to you, anyone else would have me committed," Fin said.

"It's Sergeant Benson I take it?" Munch asked with a wry smile.

"Yeah...Olivia..this is gonna sound like i'm tripping, but she's not right..she's…"

"Not Olivia Benson," Munch replied, as he took a sip of his own beer, watching Fin in amusement.

"Not Olivia Benson?" Fin said baffled, " _What the fuck, Munch?_ "

"I've been trying to pinpoint when the real Olivia was last seen, it's hard because the woman in Cragen's office..Sergeant Benson...is a very close match, but she is not Olivia, she's not the woman we knew for so many years."

"Munch...what?" Fin said, shaking his head and starting to regret asking Munch to meet with him.

"It's obvious Fin - ask her anything! She has barely any recollection of her past - well she has memories of the recent past, but her long term memory just isn't there. She has the basics, facts that have been programmed in, but the experiences, the memories, the details - they just aren't there. I mean, have you _heard_ her talk about Stabler?" Seriously Fin, she's not Olivia."

"Ok, you're right about one thing - I mean what she does say about him is pretty wacked. We sat in the same squad room as those two for years Munch, years, we saw them fight we saw them argue, but we saw them support each other, back each other up - they'd both take a bullet for the other in a second. These days; no one talks about Stabler, and now Cragen and you have gone, the new guys, they don't know him so they don't even mention him. It's freaky, it's like he's been wiped out of existence. It ain't right - but _don't even go there with that alien abduction shit,_ answer this Munch - if that's not Olivia then who the hell is it and where is she?"

"That's a _whole lot of words_ you just said there my friend, take a moment to take this in. It's not going to be easy to accept, but you know the way she talks about Elliot - it's sounds like someone who just doesn't know him - like she's reading a script, but the experiences, the knowledge, her whole past - none of it is there behind her words, none of it at all."

"Ok, yeah I see what you mean, but why? Who is she if she ain't Liv.. _.not that i'm buying this.._."

"Sergeant Benson is a genetically identical, well _almost_ identical, copy of the real Olivia Benson, whom, I'm taking a guess, can be found wherever Elliot Stabler is. Think about it - the shooting in the squad room, they were both alone with IAB, none of us really had a chance to talk to each other. IAB were in charge of the inquiry - they ran the ballistics, they tested us all for gunshot residue to confirm which guns were fired. The next time we saw Olivia, she was..well she's never _quite_ been the same, and Elliot... _we never saw him again._ It's time to start listening to me Fin, I know things which will make you question everyone and everything around you."

"This is so fucked up," Fin said.

"It is hard to take in, you have to accept things that you normally would reject…"

"No man, it's so fucked up that I'm actually listening to you!"

Munch gave a small, slightly smug laugh and paused, ensuring Fin was ready for him to continue an even stranger explanation.

"Someone is behind this, but it's kind of complicated, i've been researching things like this for years now, it's not even a surprise to me really, but you are gonna have a hard time believing this. Just hear me out ok?"

"Whatever, not like I have a choice, Liv's not Liv, this is all crazy shit, just give it to me straight."

"Ok Fin, you remember Oz?"

"Oz? That show about a prison that Amanda watches? I was on a stakeout with her the other day and _all_ she talked about was Oz, and that actor she lusts over. Girl didn't stop for breath - I mean yeah I've watched, good show, but Rollins just can't get over the…"

"No Fin! The Wizard of Oz!" Munch exclaimed.

"Ah, yeah, that probably makes more sense...actually no, what the hell do munchkins and witches have to do with it?"

"The wizard Fin, remember? People put their faith in him, their trust, he brainwashed people into believing that he was something special, when really, behind the curtain, he was just a lonely, powerless little man."

"Yeah, ok, so...wizards are real? You want me to believe that someone has some kind of magic power and made Liv and El disappear?" Fin asked incredulously.

"No! He certainly thinks he does, but that's to our advantage. He has fooled the masses into believing that he is something very special, but his only real power is mind control, and that is what fuels his ego. This is the worst criminal SVU have ever dealt with, because he has infiltrated our squad in such a big way, but his greatness is artificial- take down the ego and we take down the perp."

"Munch - we can't interrogate an ego.."

"We dont - we confront him and all those he has brainwashed, _with reality_. If the real Olivia confronts the clone, the truth will be out there. It won't be easy, but the first step is to find Olivia and Elliot, we owe it to them to give them their lives back."

"And they are?" Fin asked.

"Well, that's where my ex wife comes in," Munch said, as Fin just stared at him in confusion.

"You gotta narrow it down a bit Munch,"

 _"Gwen_. When she first contacted me about this, I brushed her off, but she was right, so very right. It's unsettling really, because what else is she right about…?" Munch said.

"Okay yeah I remember her, the craz..I mean the ex wife from the bookshop - back when Stuckey went on a murder spree."

"That's the one, she kept telling me that mass mind control was going on, but she's been saying that for years, so I didn't listen. I am sorry to say she was right."

It took surprisingly little time to plan a rescue operation, and discuss just how to deal with not only their perp, but the effects of the mind control he had crudely, but effectively exercised for over four years. The ease of execution of their plan was mostly down to Gwen, who while waiting for Munch to finally believe her, had managed to get a whole group of people meeting regularly, who had together pooled their diverse resources and drawn up a workable plan.

Gwen however, point blank refused to go anywhere near the squad room, having no wish to be anywhere near any of the clones, and informed Munch in no uncertain terms that she would help, but keep well away from the action.

 _That worked well for Munch because as awesome as Gwen was, she was quite complicated to involve in too much depth._

The one thing they were not certain of was how far the clone replacements had infiltrated the NYPD. Fin was very aware of this as he sat down in the squad room that day, listening to Olivia..Clone Olivia, briefing them on a case. He barely took in anything she said as he watched her, fascinated. She looked like Olivia, it was unnerving just how much she seemed like Liv at a glance, it wasn't until he thought back over everything she had said recently - and he wondered how the hell he could have been fooled into thinking that Olivia would carry such negativity toward her best friend.

He was deep in thought, wondering how far the mind control extended when he was suddenly aware that Olivia was standing in front of him, frowning as she watched him.

"Fin? Did you hear anything I said?" she asked.

"Sorry Li... _Olivia_ , I'll get up to speed on all that…"

Olivia shook her head, confused as she walked back into her office.

Fin watched her walk away, wondering if she even knew that she was a clone, she certainly didn't seem as if she had any ulterior motive, she just seemed to be living Olivia Benson's life.

Casting a glance around the squad room, he watched as Carisi talked to Amanda. Munch was certain that Carisi wasn't a clone, but Amanda, they just weren't sure about her at all.

Olivia sat in her office, puzzled at Fin's reaction, but as she caught sight of a framed photo of Noah on her desk, she suddenly forgot all about it, and smiled. She was certain that there was something she was supposed to be looking into, but as soon as she thought of Noah it fell away from her mind.

Shrugging, she opened a file and decided to finish up some paperwork before she headed home.

 _Fin breathed a sigh of relief as Olivia finally left for the evening, it unnerved him to think that a clone was running the unit, and that there could be others; anyone could be a clone, and he wasn't sure who to trust anymore. With a glance at Carisi, he contemplated taking him to one side and talking to him - he was sure he would listen given how interested he was in Munch's theories, but decided against it. They couldn't risk the plan going wrong._

Deciding that it was best not to involve Amanda, just in case she were a clone, he wasted no time in producing the full DVD box set of Oz, much to Amanda's joy.

Secure in the knowledge that Amanda would now be far too busy watching Oz to notice anything else going on, he slipped out of the squad room and headed to the location Munch had given him.

It was now down to Munch and Fin to rescue Elliot Stabler and the real Olivia Benson. Fin had a feeling things were gonna get even more messed up as the night went on.

 **Next up - let's get Liv and El back, they've been gone for far too long. Munch tells them about the psychological profile Huang has drawn up on the perp - who has a totally unhealthy obsession with Elliot. Chapter 3 is written and in its way soon.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author note - Disclaimer - I still don't own these characters, and honestly, just like Elliot - I don't know a single thing about cryogenics.**

 **This chapter is for NickandLiv.**

 **LATER THAT NIGHT.**

 **TOP SECRET LOCATION.**

 **SOMEWHERE IN NEW YORK.**

Elliot ran through the empty halls, confusion and panic setting in as his mind raced hard to process so much so fast. He was shaking, freezing cold and he had no idea where he was going, or what he was running from. He only knew that for some reason Munch was rushing him toward a top secret room.

"IN HERE!" Munch yelled.

Elliot stopped running and placed his hand on the wall, leaning heavily, a cold chill causing an involuntary tremble. He tried to shake the fog of confusion from his mind as he listened to Munch - nothing made sense, nothing at all. All he could do was to blindly follow, trusting that he knew what he was doing and where he was taking him.

"Stabler! Now! We don't want to stay out here for too long, this place has cameras covering every inch - my friends can't keep them all offline for long. Quick! - I didn't come this far to leave without her.."

"Leave without her?" Elliot asked confused.

Munch punched a code into a door - a solid steel door with a large hazard warning symbol emblazoned on it, and a big flashing red light, to indicate just how top secret and dangerous the room actually was, before shoving it open and bolting inside. Elliot took a deep breath and followed.

As soon as he was inside, Munch closed the door behind him and flicked a switch, flooding the room with light.

Elliot recoiled in horror as his eyes took in the sight before him - people - lots of people, standing upright, their eyes closed, inside glass cabinets.

He turned and stared at Munch in shock, "what the hell is this?"

Munch just glanced at Elliot exasperated, "I don't have time to explain, so I'll give you the summary - _pay attention_ …"

Elliot shivered again, and followed as Munch walked quickly through the rows of cabinets, his explanation rushed as his words echoed in a mysterious way, throughout the cold room.

"This is a top secret base - it has taken me over four years to locate it... _and you_ ," he paused, glancing at Elliot before turning his attention back to the cabinets, looking into each one as he passed.

Elliot stared at Munch incredulously as he followed him, feeling sluggish and chilled to the bone and struggling to keep up with his words yet alone his pace.

He simply could not believe what was happening to him; _he was desperate to listen to what Munch had to say!_ What the hell was going on?

"People have been abducted, brought here and left in a cryogenic stasis - exact duplicates have been made and put in their place - well physically anyway - they can't recreate detailed memories, only teach the clones the basic facts. Olivia was replaced with a clone, but you though, were not replaced, you _went wrong_ , you just couldn't be moulded exactly how they wanted you to be, much to the anger of the perp who did all this, so you were left here while the perp tried to destroy our very memories of you through Clone Olivia's words."

Elliot grabbed his arm and spun him around, forcing him to stand still and look at him.

" _Munch_ , what the fuck?" said Elliot in utter confusion.

" _Stabler_ ," he sighed, "I forgot, your brain is still defrosting - you were abducted by a heinous criminal, the worst SVU has ever dealt with, back in May 2011, _four years ago._ You were frozen and your entire family were victims of mind control, all forgetting who you were, but the kids are all ok, and _we won't_ need to check in on them. Good news though - turns out you're divorced, _so_ that wraps them all up nicely. Now, back to finding the real Olivia Benson."

Elliot dropped his hand from Munch's arm in disbelief and Munch turned, continuing his search of the aisles.

" _I've been in a freezer for four years_?" Elliot said, shocked.

Suddenly Munch stopped in front of one of the cabinets and went straight to the control panel alongside it, glancing briefly at the numbers written in pen on his hand, before typing in a code and standing back.

"Found her," Munch said with a smile.

Elliot stepped closer and followed Munch's line of sight, gasping in shock as his gaze fell on Olivia Benson, standing upright in the cabinet, her eyes closed and her hair cascading to her shoulders. Elliot couldn't help but take a moment to gaze at her, she looked stunning, even in a cryogenic stasis.

"The door will open as soon as the cabinet reaches a minimum temperature - she will be very confused and disorientated," Munch said, ignoring Elliot's lingering gaze.

"And pretty damn cold."

Elliot turned his head at the sound of another voice, and looked at Fin in confusion.

"The doors are all unlocked and open, we gotta move now - before they lock this place down again," Fin said.

"It's a rapid heat acceleration chamber, it's nearly there - two more minutes Fin," Munch said.

Fin glanced at Elliot, feeling slightly awkward, "Look man, i'm sorry I didn't realise you'd disappeared, or figure out that Olivia was a clone - gotta admit, I feel bad about that."

"We can discuss how inherently gullible we both were later; we got Stabler, let's get Benson and run," Munch said.

It was two excruciatingly _long_ minutes, where Munch Fin focused on the numbers on the display, counting down to Olivia's release.

They avoided glancing at Elliot, both feeling considerably relieved to have located him, but guilty for failing to realise that he had been essentially in cryogenic captivity for years.

The door to the cabinet finally released, and Munch swung it open, a rush of cold air hitting them both.

They all stared at Olivia who remained unresponsive in the cabinet.

"So how'd you wake Stabler?" Fin asked.

"I've been here all night, the cover as a cleaner worked great - I just didn't leave the building last night and defrosted Elliot slowly. He pretty much slept while the temperature adjusted gradually. My second ex wife has a website dedicated to rescuing people from cryogenic captivity, and she was very helpful with the practicalities."

Elliot stared at Munch and Fin in disbelief.

" _Four years_? What kind of detectives are you? I've been missing for four years and so has Liv and you two didn't even realise! I mean Liv had a clone...but I wasn't even there - do you know how pissed I am?" Elliot said.

"Looks like someone's warming up," Munch joked as he glanced at Fin.

"Let's get her and go," Fin said as he stepped forward and put an arm around Olivia's waist, and his other behind her neck, carefully moving her out of the cabinet.

"Take your hands off her Fin, she's my partner, I should be the one to get her out of a cryogenic sleep," Elliot said.

Fin shook his head and exchanged an exasperated glance with Munch as Elliot carefully reached forward before pausing, glancing at Munch.

"Wait, can she bend - I mean, she's been frozen?" Elliot asked.

Munch laughed, "Of course she can bend, do you know nothing about cryogenics Elliot?"

Elliot stared hard at Munch, "Of course I don't know anything about fucking cryogenics Munch!"

Munch sighed and glanced at his watch, reminding Elliot that their mission was actually time sensitive, and waited until Elliot had scooped Olivia up in his arms.

Soon the four SVU detectives were racing through the hallways, the dim light from the emergency lighting, their only guide.

Elliot felt like he was running a marathon yet Fin and Munch were ahead of him and not struggling at all. It didn't help that he couldn't take his eyes off of Olivia of course; she had been frozen for four years yet looked absolutely beautiful and perfect - just as she always did to Elliot.

Pausing he felt a shiver run through him again, but he struggled on for Olivia's sake, because he had to keep going for her. He would never let her down, _and he sure as hell would never walk away from her._

Soon they had escaped the facility and were sitting in the warmth of a mysterious looking van. It was well equipped with heating pads, blankets, and water and a row of soft seating lined one wall. Olivia and Elliot sat together, Elliot with his arm around her, holding her close to him, purely to warm up, no other reason whatsoever.

Once Olivia started to come around, Elliot pulled his arm tighter around her shoulders and tried to explain what he knew. Munch simply watched in amusement as Elliot tried to explain the situation, given that he had only been defrosted for a relatively short while and only Munch really knew the facts... _and his ex wives_ , who were all pretty clued up, and had considerable ability to organise and orchestrate a rescue mission on such a complex scale.

"Ok, i'm only going to impart this wisdom once, _listen up_. You were both abducted, drugged, and once unconscious, transported to a suspension facility. Your bodies were packed in ice and injected with an anticoagulant, vitrificated, and then you were in a sort of suspended animation. Your bodies were cooled with dry ice, inserted into containers, placed into a metal tank filled with liquid nitrogen. At that point you were pretty much frozen. Clones were created, Elliot's went wrong, but Olivia's has been in Manhattan living her life since 2011."

Elliot noticed a violent shiver tear through Olivia and pulled her closer to him as she trembled, clutching the blanket around her tightly.

"Look...I've considered how to explain this, but Liv's not taking in a word I'm saying because she was unconscious in a freezer less than twenty minutes ago, and you've been awake longer, but every time I have tried to explain, you just curse, so I'm gonna make it really simple for you too until you are fully defrosted," Munch said.

"Munch," Olivia said, her words shaking with the chill that wouldn't seem to leave her, "stop...insulting us. We're not idiots..we're just.. _cold_..tell us straight."

"Ok, you remember Invasion of the Body Snatchers?" Munch said, quite seriously. "Well pod people exist."

Elliot and Olivia stared at Munch in disbelief, and Fin found himself joining in, even though he had been totally convinced that Munch was actually right about the whole crazy mess.

"An evil villain has conspired to take you two down. He wanted you both, and he worked hard at his plan, he had you both abducted and frozen, and created clones, programed with your memories...well _to a point._ He couldn't get Elliot's clone right, no matter what he did, and that made him seriously pissed, so he destroyed the Elliot clone, and in a fit of egotistical rage, tried to wipe Elliot from Clone Olivia's mind. Clone Liv is pretty smart though and she still remembered him, but every week he programs her, he alters her and works at her. He uses her to destroy the memories of Elliot because he can't get at you any other way. In truth he is obsessed with you Elliot."

"Um...Munch," Olivia said, as she snuggled up against Elliot, to keep warm, purely because she was so cold, and sharing body heat is sensible. " _Munch_ , this is insane, this isn't a sci fi movie, there are no clones, I'm cold because it's snowing outside," said Olivia, her voice shaky as she glanced out of the window briefly before turning her head back to Munch.

"May, Liv," Fin said.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"May. You were taken in May, it wasn't snowing then," Fin said. "I hate to say this, but we all have to listen to Munch. This ain't a joke Liv, it's November 2015 and you've been gone for four and a half years."

Olivia rested her head on Elliot's shoulder, closing her eyes, too cold and disorientated to understand.

"You believe Munch, Fin?" she said, "this is insane.."

"Munch," Elliot said, as he gave Olivia's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "Where did everyone think I was? And why was Olivia cloned...I mean what has her clone been doing for four and a half years?"

"Moving rapidly up the ranks of the NYPD. She's a Lieutenant now, and a mom. Clone Olivia is a very good copy of you Liv, so she's smart, and she's more independent than the average clone. She doesn't _know_ what she is though - she's not dangerous, the clones are all essentially harmless."

"Why create them if they're harmless, what the hell is the point in all this?" Elliot said.

"It's like this; imagine if the Wizard, in Oz, was actually a narcissistic sociopath - just a solitary little man, pretending to be something bigger than he is."

"Munch, there wasn't a wizard in Oz…" Olivia said frowning.

Munch laughed and shook his head, "Are you _all_ watching that show?"

"Well I know _I_ am," said Olivia with a smile, suddenly feeling warmer.

"I meant the _movie_ -The Wizard of Oz. Our perp though isn't so harmless, but he doesn't really have a well thought out plan, he just gets off on controlling minds and screwing with people's lives," Munch said.

"He's programmed Liv's clone to say some crazy shit about you Stabler, like he's trying to destroy you." Fin said. "Freak just likes controlling people and he uses mind control on the ones who ain't clones."

"Yes, he is certainly obsessed with you Elliot, be prepared for that when you meet him. Huang has a full psychological profile, read the sections on Limerence, obsession and Narcissistic Personality Disorder. _That's some disturbing reading_ ," Munch said.

"So if he's a narcissist - he's pulled us out of our lives, for no reason other than to stroke his own ego by having control over us?" Olivia asked, feeling a little warmer, but deciding it was quite nice to be cuddled up next to Elliot, so she continued to rest her head comfortably on his shoulder.

"This is where we come back to that famous movie - remember the pod people? Well they could only exist for five years - and this is the fifth year that Olivia's clone has been here. Their time is coming to an end, but we aren't gonna just wait it out while you two are robbed of your lives for a few more months. This is where we make a stand and we get your lives back, show the perp that he can't destroy your lives. Put an end to his games."

"Munch, how are we gonna do that, again? Gotta admit I zoned out a bit while you were explaining all this shit earlier," Fin admitted honestly.

"Fin, I have explained this _five times_ to you now - you just stop listening after two minutes, every time," Munch said.

"It's kinda a habit, no offense, I just been doing that for years being your partner; I never listened beyond the first couple sentences. You were always spouting crazy shit Munch." Fin shrugged.

"Well you're all listening to me _now_ , _aren't you?"_ Munch said smugly and triumphantly.

 **In the next chapter - Olivia and Elliot, once thoroughly defrosted, prepare to take their lives back. Olivia confronts her clone, and our two favourite detectives prepare to tear down the curtain and face the man hiding behind it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**This is a shorter chapter, just to acclimatise Liv and El now that they are defrosted.**

In the quite nice hotel room that Munch had stashed Olivia and Elliot in, Elliot stood next to the bed, his arms folded, as he looked down at his partner. She was much warmer and more coherent now, and was finally taking in everything that Munch was telling her.

"This woman...she looks so much like me; you're telling me she lives in my apartment?"

"Well no, you have a new apartment, I mean _she_ , has a new apartment; it's nice, bigger, you'll like it," Munch said, offering her a hopeful smile.

"She has taken four years of my life, she's not taking my apartment too!" Olivia said, "I don't want to live in her apartment, I want my life back!"

"Ah...well, it's not quite that simple. You see she really needed to move...she'd been through a lot. The wizard, he's as fixated on her as he is on Elliot, but while he tears down Elliot's name, his character, his history, he breaks down Clone Olivia repeatedly - putting her through all kinds of personal hell. That's what finally made me accept everything Gwen had told me - I knew she couldn't be real, after repeatedly going through these situations and bouncing back so easily."

"What situations Munch? What has this psycho been doing with Olivia's clone?" Elliot said, his tone guarded. His instinctive response to protect Olivia, briefly expanding to include her clone.

"It's best that you don't know - really who would want to know all those details anyway? Huang does have a section in his report that explains the wizards need to repeatedly break someone down emotionally, physically, torture them in every conceivable way, and take them to the very brink of destruction before hitting the reset button again... _but_ that's some light reading for another day."

"That's sick! What the hell kind of person does that?" Elliot said in disbelief.

"One with a very disturbed mind," Munch said, shaking his head.

Olivia looked up, anger and disbelief coursing through her. "Why do this to us?"

"He's the only one who can tell you that, but his obsession with Stabler has been a constant for over four years. It's quite unsettling really. You two need to remember that everything he has done, all the pain he has caused, it has all been to a clone - and when he faces you two, he will be nothing but a quivering, blubbering mess. He will run like a frightened rabbit with Benson and Stabler confronting him. He has no real spine - but it's the clone I feel for. She's been through so much, and there was really no need for any of it. Gwen identified her as a clone long before I did - I am very sorry to say. She spent four years messaging me about mind control and clones, and people disappearing, and now I am finally listening to her she won't come within a mile of the station house - she's too afraid that the wizard will make her disappear and create a Clone Gwen."

Olivia shook her head, and couldn't help the tears that pooled behind her eyes as she picked up a photograph of Clone Olivia holding a baby.

"Ah, that's Noah...he's her...well I guess _your,_ son," Munch said cautiously.

"Is he a clone too?" Elliot asked, deciding to give in to the urge to comfort Olivia, as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

Olivia glanced up at him and smiled briefly, her own hand slipping up to cover his, before turning her attention back to the picture.

Munch merely observed their interaction, knowing full well that they were completely and utterly in love. He found it hard to believe that they had never been honest about their feelings - it took being kidnapped, placed in a cryogenic prison, and a clone stealing Olivia's life, before they would finally give in to their feelings.

At least Munch hoped they would; realising that they might dance around their feelings regardless, he made a mental note to get them both to admit that they were in fact, hopelessly in love with each other, as soon as possible - if they didn't figure it out first.

Shaking his head with a smile, he dismissed his thoughts of how incredibly in denial they had both been, about the fact that they were so obviously soul mates, and really had wasted so many years when they could have been happy together.

"No, he's not a clone. I checked his DNA, no deviant patterns," Munch said.

Elliot and Olivia both glanced at Munch in stunned silence, before Elliot finally broke their dumbfounded silence. "Munch - when did you become a forensic scientist? Did that happen in the last four years?"

Munch chuckled, "No, but I have friends who are. All I needed was a hair sample. So I went with him when he got his first haircut. It was easy."

"So he's a real baby - being cared for by a clone?" Olivia said.

"Yes, she does a good job though," Munch said, "She really shines as a mother, it suits her too."

Olivia and Elliot both glared at Munch, who raised his hands in surrender, "Ok, sorry, I'll stop telling you how great the clone who invaded your life is. This isn't going to help you face her. We need to get her here and confront her with the reality that she _is_ a clone. Once she faces you and Elliot it will be easier."

"But she believes she's Olivia…" Elliot said.

" _Yes_ ," Munch sighed, frustrated, "but she can't forget Elliot, even though her programmed memories have been warped. So we show her who Elliot really is and help retrieve those memories, then she will see that she is being manipulated."

"How do we get her to understand that she's a clone, John?" Olivia asked.

"Well, I have given this a lot of thought, but I think the frank approach might be best in this case."

"Which is?" Elliot asked.

"This is the real Olivia, _you_ are a clone, and _not real_. This is Elliot, everything you have said about him is ridiculous. The evil wizard has put you through hell repeatedly - help us take him down," Munch said, with a shrug.

"You think that will work?" Olivia asked incredulously.

"Unless anyone has any better ideas, _and I'm not hearing anything coming from the two thirds of the room who were recently defrosted_ ….then yes, let's go have a chat with the fake Olivia Benson." Munch said, with a satisfied smile, certain that his plan was flawless.

 **What will happen when they face Olivia's clone? Will Munch's direct approach work? Will the clone help them face the little man, who is masquerading as a wizard, and take him down?**

 **Thank you for reading my slightly crazy stories.**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

 **In this chapter - Olivia and Elliot face Liv's clone, and they are not happy with her. Is she going to help them? Is it going too smoothly?**

Olivia paced the room as Elliot watched her carefully from his position, leaning on the dressing table, his arms folded. He sighed and stepped toward her, grasping her shoulders and stilling her.

"We can do this Olivia, Munch has been researching this for a while, we have to trust his plan."

"I trust him as a friend and a cop, _but Elliot,_ he is telling us we are at the heart of a major conspiracy plot - this is a bit hard to accept," she said, shaking her head before briefly glancing up at him, their eyes connecting.

Elliot smiled, it was impossible to meet her eyes without smiling, she radiated such warmth, beauty, compassion. She was the love of his life, but she had no idea. "It's crazy Liv, but Munch really is right about all of this. You ready to meet your clone?"

"Is anyone ever ready to meet their clone Elliot?" Olivia said, as they both took a moment to absorb the fact that they were about to come face to face with a genetically near identical copy of Olivia.

Elliot took a deep breath as his gaze averted to the window, not wanting to see Olivia's reaction in case his hopes of her requiting his feelings came crashing down around him.

"So I'm divorced," he said quickly.

"You are?" she said, as she watched him, willing him to look at her.

"Yeah. Turns out Kathy's mind was messed with - she got a divorce in my absence, then forgot all about me. Guess she couldn't have loved me enough to be brainwashed quite so easily."

Olivia stepped forward, her hand reaching out, touching the leather of his jacket as her fingers closed around his arm.

"She's wrong Elliot. You deserve better," Olivia said, as he turned to face her, looking into her eyes, "so much better," she whispered.

The moment was abruptly interrupted by the sound of a key card being inserted into the door. Olivia and Elliot turned to face the door, waiting for Munch to bring them face to face with the woman who had stolen Olivia's life.

Sergeant Benson stared in shock at the two detectives, jumping slightly as the door closed with a loud click. Glancing behind her, she frowned and shook her head, "Munch what the hell is this?"

Olivia and Elliot remained silent, standing side by side as they watched Olivia's clone, mentally assessing her reactions, while trying to shake off the bizarre experience of having two Olivia Benson's in the room.

As Munch began to talk, Elliot found himself temporarily distracted by the _thought_ of two Olivia Benson's - he couldn't deny how incredibly beautiful and stunning _his_ Olivia was - but her clone certainly shared her physical attributes, and he gave a small smile at the thought of both of them...one on each side of him as they lay on his bed...

"Who are these people?!" Sergeant Benson asked, her question directed to Munch.

Elliot stepped forward, coughing in embarrassment and slight guilt, at his train of thought, even though he was pretty sure that no one in the room could read minds.

 _Almost definitely sure..._

He's watching Sergeant Benson curiously, before glancing back at the real Olivia, momentarily comparing them before catching sight of the look of determination in Olivia - _his Olivia's_ eyes. There may be two extremely hot women in the room, but only one of them had his heart - only one shone with the passion of the real Olivia Benson.

"I'm Elliot Stabler," he said, a hard edge to his voice, pausing as he gestured toward Olivia, "and this is my partner Olivia Benson - _she look familiar to you_?"

Sergeant Benson began to speak but found herself lost for words, taking a deep breath, she exhaled slowly and stared hard at Elliot.

" _You_...are Elliot Stabler? The man who walked out of my life, after my painful unrequited, damaging, harmful, bad relationship? The man who doesn't care anything about me? Now.. _.now_ , you have a girlfriend called Olivia?"

Olivia, Elliot and Munch simply stared at Sergeant Benson, amazed at the ridiculous words tumbling out, as she reacted to Elliot's presence.

"That is so disturbing, that you made me so unhappy for so many years, left me, then got a girlfriend who looks like me - you are even worse than I remember! You are...you…"

"He is **what** , Sergeant _Benson_?" asked Olivia, deciding she had heard more than enough, as she stepped forward standing at Elliot's side. "He. Is. **What**? What do _you_ know about Elliot Stabler? Tell me - because it sounds like you've been making it up as you go along."

"Your boyfriend made me think he cared about me for years, and then he just walked away and never even spoke to me again! Now he has found someone who he can pretend is me? This is too disturbing," she said, before fixing her angry, stunned gaze on Olivia. "You need to leave before he stops you from having babies and holds you down for over a decade, forcing you into an unhappy one sided relationship where you…"

"Oh, **shut up**!" Olivia snapped, shaking her head in disbelief. "Can you even hear yourself? You may look like me, but you don't act like me _or_ think like me! You don't even _know_ Elliot Stabler, you don't have the first clue who he is - no one has ever cared about me the way that this man has - and I didn't even let him in _so_ many times, yet he was always there for me, _always_. He would **never** ," she said as she stepped forward, face to face with Sergeant Benson, " _Turn his back on me and walk away_. Do you wanna know how I know that?"

"Ok, I'll humour you, how do you know that?" Sergeant Benson said.

"Because I would never walk away from him either," Olivia said, her voice lowering, but her determined, forceful edge remaining.

"There's another reason Liv…" Elliot said suddenly.

"Another reason?" she asked, confused, but slightly hopeful, as she stepped back from her clone and turned to face him.

"Yeah Liv, " he said, clearing his throat nervously, "I'd never walk away from you because…. _well_...because,"

" _Stabler_ ," Munch sighed, "we _do_ have a situation here...so if you are going to profess your undying love for your partner, could you hurry it up a bit?"

Olivia looked at Elliot, her eyes locking with his as her heart raced in anticipation of his words. "Why Elliot?" she whispered, "why won't you walk away?"

"Because Olivia, I love you too damn much," he said, as he closed the distance between them and took her hands in his, his mouth dropping to hers instantly. In a flash, their lips connected, their kiss turning quickly passionate while Sergeant Benson glared at them both, and Munch glanced at his watch.

Munch allowed them a whole minute, unable to fight the smile it gave him to see his two friends, defrosted and certainly much, _much_ warmer now, finally admitting their true feelings…. before remembering that a clone was actually in the room with them.

"Sorry to break up this long awaited love fest, but we do have the slight issue of cloning, and mass mind control to deal with," Munch said.

"Sorry," Olivia said with a smile, as she dropped one of her hands from Elliot's, the other remaining intertwined with his, as he smiled lovingly at her.

"I'd never walk away from you sweetheart, because I'm in love with you and always have been... _plus_ ," he said, placing a kiss on her head before his gaze hardened, as it fell on Sergeant Benson, "I'm also _**not an asshole**_."

"That's very true Elliot, you are certainly not an asshole….you did piss Fin off a bit, but even _he_ accepted that I was right, when I pointed out that not only would you never treat Liv how _Sergeant Benson_ here says you did, but you had effectively vanished mysteriously and no one really gave your disappearance a second thought!" Munch said, shaking his head.

"And you," Munch continued, as he peered cautiously at Sergeant Benson from the rim of his glasses, "I am afraid to say, are not a real person. Don't talk, just hear me out," he continued, determined. "Olivia Benson was kidnapped and cloned - _you_ are that clone. Elliot has been in a cryogenic chamber for over four years - which has a little something to do with why he didn't return the _three or four calls_ you made to his cell after he left…"

"You expect me to believe you Munch? This is an insane theory, even for you. The fact that you have located the person that I have spent years _recovering from even knowing_ , and brought him here ..I mean...he's so heartless..is this even safe? He could be capable of _anything_ Munch...he's probably safest in a cryogenic chamber! At least he can't ruin my life if he's below -minus 320.4 fahrenheit!"

"You thought this was ME Munch?" Olivia said in shock, "For four and a half years, _you actually thought this was me_?"

Munch looked away, embarrassed, "Well, yes. Sorry about that Olivia, but I _am_ making that right now - remember who organised your rescue mission? Well yours _and_ the love of your life here...I think that begs forgiveness...but back to the current dilemma."

It took a further ten hours to convince Sergeant Benson that she was actually a clone - ten _long hours_ , of Munch explaining in far too much detail, and Olivia and Elliot growing tired..of their long ordeal, as well as their physical boundaries.

Olivia and Elliot sat on the bed, leaning back against the cushioned headrest, Elliot's arm draped around Olivia as he pulled her close to him. She smiled, resting her head against his shoulder as she watched Munch explaining cloning repeatedly to Sergeant Benson, who was now sitting in a chair by the window, her gaze drifting to the view of the city through the large floor to ceiling glass pane.

Olivia let her eyes close as she tried to drift off to sleep, enjoying the warmth and comfort of Elliot's body so close to hers.

Smiling, she snuggled closer against him, as he tightened his arm around her in response. Hearing only fragments of Munch's conversation with her clone, she let her own thoughts focus on the amazing feeling of being with the man she loved.

"Fin tells me that Rollins has three seasons of Oz remaining, so we have a little time to establish whether or not she is a clone too, but I don't want to delay this any longer. Do you see that you have been used, manipulated, harmed; repeatedly put through hell by the same person who stole the very lives of Olivia and Elliot for the past four and a half years?" Munch said.

" _Ok Munch_ ," sighed Sergeant Benson in defeat, "Tthat would explain why there are two of us here...and why I can't remember very much before the squad room shooting...but...what do you want me to do about it?"

"The man who did this has put you through an unnecessarily high level of pain in many forms. Help us take him down. Help us to make him pay for the torment he has repeatedly caused you - _work with us on this_ \- you are the key here, you know who he the wizard is, don't you? You can get him here?"

"The Wizard?" she smiled, "yes of course I know him! He's the official head of IAB - I had lunch with him and Tucker the other day - he has really been instrumental in helping me out of my one sided love for Elliot and getting me to where I am today. Then I had drinks with Tucker, which was nice, gosh I'm so happy. What would I do without the Wizard? He even got me to see how nice Tucker was, and now he might be my boyfriend. The Wizard is amazing, he…"

"Would you STOP!" Elliot yelled, before dropping his head back against the headboard and exhaling hard, dropping his arm from Olivia as he put his hands to his head in frustration.

"AND YOU HAD LUNCH WITH TUCKER? _With Tucker?_? **Why the hell would you give Tucker the time of day**?" Elliot yelled as he stared hard at her.

Sergeant Benson smiled happily, "well, he's a nice man really, and he is kind of.."

Olivia jumped up from the bed, a look of horror on her face, "Don't say it, please no! _Don't say it!_ "

"Why? Why does no one want me to be happy and have a boyfriend?" she asked, genuinely baffled.

Munch sighed, "Nobody wants you to be unhappy, but you are unaware of anything which happened in Olivia's life prior to 2011. Keep away from Tucker - why don't you find a nice clone Tucker instead - because if Tucker doesn't know you are a clone, then he has an ulterior motive in getting close to you, I can almost guarantee that."

Munch stepped closer and put a sympathetic hand on her arm. "Maybe once we take down your creator, we can find you a clone boyfriend. Gwen's research indicates that a large number of clones are living and working among us, mostly in prominent societal positions - there could be a real catch out there for you." Munch said, offering a hopeful smile.

As the daylight began to fade, they all discussed their plan. Munch watched Sergeant Benson cautiously; she seemed to be very accepting and cooperative of the whole situation. He didn't like it - this was too easy, sure she was a clone, and so it wasn't as difficult as convincing Olivia and Elliot...and considerably easier than convincing Fin, but her ease of acceptance unsettled him. She was designed to think and act like Olivia, so he couldn't help but think 'what would Olivia Benson do?' Keeping that thought in the back of his mind, he smiled reassuringly at Sergeant Benson, soon they would be facing her creator, and then her allegiance would be clear.

 **In the next chapter of Whatever This Is? Is Clone Liv going to help them, or side with the wizard? Can we really trust Clone Liv? Is Rollins a clone too? Will it be as simple as Munch's plan appears - or will they face resistance from the brainwashed masses? Will the wizard run like a frightened rabbit?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Apologies for the delay, even more so for those reading my other stories! Hope you enjoy this, we are coming towards the end now, only two chapters left before Liv and El get their lives back. Thank you to Joanie for for betaing. :-)**  
 **Chapter 6**

Fin stood, leaning against the wall as he watched in silence. He knew the plan, Munch had gone over it again and again, _and again_ \- which Fin was grateful for, because he was having a hard time getting his head around it. He was making a concerted effort to move from years of ignoring Munch after the first few sentences, to actually paying attention and taking in every word he said. It wasn't just the stunning revelation that Munch was actually right about every single thing that he was telling them though, it was also the strange, unnerving feeling that took over him whenever his eyes fell on Olivia...and then moved across to Clone Olivia. The two were so similar physically, but their demeanours set them apart - _as well as their proximities to Elliot._

Olivia sat alongside Elliot, their chairs pulled as close together as they could possibly manage; her arm resting lightly against his. Her eyes shone with a fire that her clone just could not replicate. Her drive, determination, her sense of purpose, were all there, so clear to see.

Clone Olivia on the other hand, sat at the opposite end of the table to Elliot - casting him a wary, disgusted glance periodically, which Fin was certain Eliot was aware of, but was choosing to ignore. Elliot was certainly more than a little preoccupied with leaning as close to Olivia as he could feasibly get without making too outward a display of physical affection. He was also angry, tense, and shared his partner's determination to sort out the mess that their lives were now in.

Elliot was shocked that Munch, Fin and Cragen hadn't realised that the woman they had worked with for so many years was not the same person. Why did they accept it so easily? The situation was pissing him off more and more by the minute.

Some bastard has stolen his life, tried to destroy his name, and attacked his character. This person had done his best to destroy what he and Olivia had **;** locking her away in a freezer and replacing her with a poor copy who somehow fooled everyone. The elite group of detectives he was a part of hadn't even noticed that he was missing, or that anything was different about Olivia. His own family had been brainwashed, and didn't remember him or notice that he had been gone for four and a half years.

 _Elliot_ _was seriously pissed off about this crap._

He turned his attention back to Munch, carefully avoiding meeting Clone Olivia's eyes. It was time to end this, and get their lives back.

 _Today they would take Clone Olivia to confront the wizard._

Munch distracted Clone Olivia with the file from Huang, which she picked up with interest, browsing through the psychological profile of the wizard, while he eyed her cautiously from the other side of the room, Olivia and Elliot standing close enough that they could hold a whispered conversation.

"What if she doesn't come with us? I mean, we have to consider that she is just playing us, she's too cooperative - I don't like this, she could be leading us into a trap," Olivia said in a hushed tone.

"Yeah, this is all too easy. She's just gonna introduce us to him?" Elliot said, casting a wary glance at Olivia's clone.

"She either genuinely thinks that he really is a wonderful wizard, in which case we just let her lead us straight to him, or she is currently sitting over there, plotting against us in her mind as we speak," Munch said, as all three detectives turned their heads in perfect unison as they cast suspicious looks in her direction.

Munch held his wary gaze on the clone, while he spoke in a hushed tone. "I suspect that she is trying to work out how best to get away from us and warn the wizard. The clones are not dangerous per se, but they serve the wizard, and his programming skills are as adept as his brainwashing; she will try to escape and help him because she believes that he is a truly wonderful wizard and that you Elliot, are a truly terrible person."

Olivia glared angrily at her clone, placing her hand lightly on Elliot's arm absentmindedly. Elliot leaned down and placed a quick kiss on her head, her tension and anger lessening immediately as she turned to meet his eyes.

"It's ok baby, we're taking her down, _and_ this son of a bitch who stole our lives," Elliot said as he took her hand and squeezed reassuringly. "Then we get our lives back, and we... _well_ , we could..I mean..."

Munch sighed, "You could take your lives back, but _this_ time, together; embracing your new found romantic love and venturing on to a new dawn of happiness together - yes, I think we get that part. You love Olivia, she loves you, I'm truly happy for you both, but we have a very serious conspiracy on a massive scale to put an end to tonight," he paused, gesturing to them, "So if you two could kiss now, then we can focus on the case and end a potential global conspiracy."

"Munch?" Olivia asked, dumfounded, "You want us to kiss?"

"Your love lives, ongoing sexual tension, undeniable chemistry and the amusing, yet somewhat sad way that you have denied your feelings for years, don't bother me. I just need you both focused, so you need to just kiss. I'll go talk to the clone, give you some privacy - but any further boundaries will need to be crossed once this mess is over because all you have is five minutes, then we take the clone and go."

"Wait, Munch, what if she doesn't go along with this?" Olivia asked, deftly changing the subject.

"Oh well that's easy, get your boundary crossing out of the way then we will just abduct her, and make her take us to him." Munch said with a shrug.

"You said she was genetically near identical to Olivia - that means she thinks like Liv. It won't be that easy to abduct her, she will know what we our next step is going to be," Elliot said.

Munch coughed, "Well, I did say _near_ identical - she doesn't have _all_ of the same attributes, and it is.." he said, pausing as he looked away from Olivia, not wanting to impart the information while making eye contact, "Actually _relatively easy_ to kidnap her."

 **TEN MINUTES LATER.**

After Munch called time on Olivia and Elliot's make out session, _three times_ before they finally broke for air, turning their five minute boundary crossing session into eight minutes, they then took Clone Olivia hostage in one minute forty five seconds. It was an excruciatingly _painful,_ one minute forty five seconds for Olivia however, who could not believe how easily her clone conceded.

 _It went down like this;_

 _Elliot strode purposely over to Clone Olivia, who looked up from the papers now scattered across the table, with curiosity._

" _Sorry but we can't take a risk with you," Elliot said as he reached forward and quickly took her gun from her holster._

 _Clone Olivia frowned, "What are you doing?"_

" _Abducting you - you have a backup?" Elliot asked._

" _No," Clone Olivia said, shrugging, "but If you persist with this, I will have no choice but to call my squad, on my cell phone, and tell them I've been kidnapped."_

 _Olivia rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh as she walked over and held out her hand. Clone Olivia produced her cell phone and placed it in her hands without any argument, much to Olivia's amazement..and utter disbelief._

 _Olivia shook her head as Elliot cuffed Sergeant Benson's hands behind her back, shocked at just how easy it was to kidnap her clone._

" _I'll happily take you to the Wizard, there is no need to resort to such an extreme tactic as kidnapping me," said Clone Olivia, as she glared at Olivia and then turned to Munch. "I mean, I expect this sort of behaviour from Elliot Stabler, but you Munch?"_

 _Olivia and Elliot simply stared at each other as Munch let out a laugh._

" _Ok, Sargeant,_ _ **take us to your leader,**_ " _Munch said in a deadly serious voice that made Elliot laugh involuntarily._

They walked through the corridor, Munch leading the way, Clone Olivia behind him, and Elliot and Olivia at the back. Elliot sensed Olivia's discomfort and glanced at her with concern.

"You ok Liv?" he said quietly.

"I'm fine," she said, a little sharply, telling Elliot that she was _not fine_ , in the slightest, at all, whatsoever.

"What's up?" he asked as he placed a hand on her arm and stepped in front of her, halting her.

Olivia let out a sigh and met his eyes, "That clone is supposed to be a copy of me El - and..well, she's just nothing like me. How they all thought she was me for so long is beyond me, but that's another issue. We kidnapped her in 1 minute 45 seconds Elliot - _that's just embarrassing_."

"Hey, she's not _you_ Liv, she's just a clone," he said, as he leant forward and placed a quick kiss on her head. "It would be much harder to kidnap you - damn near impossible actually, and if she had me watching her back _she wouldn't get kidnapped at all_."

"You're right El, I shouldn't feel like this, but it's hard to shake it...I just feel kind of offended. I really need to confront the person who designed this clone."

"Don't worry Liv, I'm having a conversation with that son of a bitch too," Elliot said determinedly.

"Thanks El, but I want a piece of him myself," Olivia said.

"Benson! Stabler!" shouted Munch from the other end of the corridor, as he briefly stepped away from Clone Olivia and moved a few steps closer toward them, "Global mind control conspiracy? Cloning? Evil Wizard? Sound familiar to you two? We are in the middle of something here, so could you put your intimate conversation on hold, there will be plenty of time for that after we save the world from the clone invasion."

Olivia was just about to inform Munch that she and Elliot were actually discussing the current situation and not what they were going to do when they finally got a chance to go back to Olivia's new apartment; together, alone, well except for Noah that is, wherever _he_ was. However, her train of thought came to abrupt end when the fire door suddenly burst open, much to everyone's amazement, revealing Tucker, who quickly grabbed Clone Olivia.

"You are just trying to ruin everything! The wizards world is perfect!" Tucker exclaimed while keeping a firm grip on her upper arm and holding her tightly against him with his other arm. "The wizard perfected Olivia Benson - you were flawed, you had no substance, no essence," he continued, as he stared at Olivia, "You had no life, no passion, no fervour, no substance, no joy, no happiness, no...no... _anything_ , until the wizard came along and made a whole new you. Look at her," he said as he turned his attention back to the clone.

"She's perfect now!" he laughed, as he pulled his gun and pointed it at her head.

"She was... _she is_ , everything! Olivia Benson is the opposite to everything you just said. _You_ , you idiot, have described her clone," Elliot shouted.

"I will not listen to your lies!" he said, "You just want to spoil the Wizards Wonderful World" I will not listen to anything you have to say. The wizard made Olivia's life new again - she was nothing, _nothing_! He gave her everything. Everything that you, Elliot Stabler denied her; a family, a life, a dizzying kind of happiness, a…"

"Oh SHUT UP!" Olivia shouted, I can't hear any more of this! Elliot didn't deny me anything, he did nothing but support me, and _now_ , now that I know how much he loves me - _now_ our lives can really start again."

Olivia turned to Elliot and looked at him with a mixture of love and determination, "You once said you'd support me to have a baby, you still feel that way? _Will you be a father to Noah?"_ "

"He would never say something like that! He would never do anything for you!" Clone Olivia shouted.

Elliot rolled his eyes and met Olivia's gaze with equal love and determination, "Always Liv, _always_. I'll adopt Noah, and then he will always know who his parents are,"

Munch gave another frustrated sigh as Olivia and Elliot leaned in for a kiss, only to be stopped by the strange sound of Clone Olivia laughing, in a slightly unhinged, almost villainous sort of way. Munch glanced at her warily.

"Oh, isn't that sweet - Olivia steals the baby and Elliot helps her. How lovely, how affirming, how perfect...oh but there's one little hitch…" she said, with a decidedly evil edge to her voice.

"What hitch?" Munch asked.

"Well," laughed Clone Olivia, "shouldn't you be asking yourself about now... _who's watching the baby_?"

Olivia paled as she turned to Munch, "Where is he?"

"With Lucy...the nanny… _another clone._.." Munch said, as realisation took hold in one fell swoop, "where is Noah, Sergeant Benson?"

Clone Olivia laughed a diabolical sounding laugh, and stared hard at Munch, although admittedly the gun jammed against her head did take the edge off her attempt at an fiendish demeanour somewhat.

"Noah is on ice, in the Wizard's castle, where you will never find him!" she laughed evilly.

"Really?" asked Tucker in amazement, as he lowered the gun slightly to turn her to face him, "When did that happen?"

"Swapped him for a clone baby - it's funny really, noone even noticed - I thought Fin might for a moment, but he just accepted it too. Can you put the gun down now, or I _really_ am going to cancel our plans for drinks later," she said.

Tucker spun Clone Olivia back around, and put the gun back to her head as he glowered at Olivia, Munch and Elliot. "You need her alive to find out where the Wizard's castle is, and I won't hesitate to shoot her if you try to get to the Wizard."

Tightening his hold on Clone Olivia, he lunged backwards, bursting out through the fire door, and letting it close with a resounding bang.

Olivia folded her arms and leant back against the wall letting out a sigh.

"Liv, it's ok," said Elliot as he cupped her chin in his hand, tilting her face up to meet his eyes, "we will just give him a minute to think he's got away and then follow him straight to the castle...gotta be easy, I mean who can miss a castle in the middle of New York City?"

"It's not that El," Olivia said sadly, "She was kidnapped _again_ , I'm just so…. mortified," she whispered as she shook her head in dismay.

Elliot leant forward and placed a soft kiss on her lips, immediately eliciting a smile from her.

Munch shook his head in annoyance and glanced at his watch in an exaggerated manner, "Fin is meeting us at the castle in ten minutes if you two love birds could focus for a moment."

Elliot cast a glare in Munch's direction, "And how are we going to find the castle in ten minutes?"

"Oh that's easy, it's not so much of a castle as a small dingy dungeon really - the Wizard just exaggerates these things to inflate his own feelings of self importance. Fin was outside, so he is just following him and the clone right to the door," Munch said with a satisfied smile.

"Let's go pay him a visit," Elliot said as he turned to Olivia. "No one insults you by designing a clone that can be kidnapped in one minute and forty five seconds, and gets away with it."

 **Next up, our detectives go to the wizard's lair to confront him. Will they rescue Noah? What will happen to Clone Noah? What on earth is Rollins doing all this time? What about Carisi? What will the wizard do when he sees the man he is unhealthily obsessed with? Are you still reading? lol**


	7. Chapter 7

**Big thanks to Joanie for being my beta, and Annie who got the cogs turning in my head for a fitting end to the wizard's rule. I hope you like how our detectives deal with the wizard. Munch invites someone to join them - she really needed a piece of him too!**

Olivia and Elliot stood side by side, taking in the shack that they were about to enter. Fin and Munch flanked them as the four detectives stared at the ramshackle building before them.

On a small grassy area outside, a few sheep were grazing, bumping into each other constantly as they tried to stand on the same patch of grass.

 _As they took in the building, and the oblivious sheep, they each contemplated the situation._

Elliot was angry - for his own treatment as much as Olivia's. He had lost so much, but felt a slight satisfaction that the wizard hadn't been able to clone him successfully. Even a copy of Stabler would have noticed something was definitely up with Olivia Benson. He read the psych profile and knew that the wizard held an unhealthy obsession with him, but he also knew that he had a fabricated view of him as a person - that face to face, the wizard would actually be afraid of him, and he planned to use that to his advantage.

Olivia felt a surge of adrenalin, she was angry that Elliot had lost so much, that his name had been smeared, that his family forgot about him, that everyone was so easy to brainwash that they all just went on with their lives as if a person just leaving without a trace was normal. Mostly though, she was seriously pissed off that the clone had been accepted by everyone who knew her as the real Benson.

Fin appeared determined, he wanted to get on with this, and didn't understand why they hadn't just kicked the door down and gone in there yet. With a sigh of impatience he turned to Munch and frowned.

"Why are you looking at your watch again? These two aren't even touching this time," Fin said.

"Waiting for one more person to join us," Munch said.

"Really?" Asked Olivia, "The wizard has ruined more lives than just ours?"

"Oh yes," Munch said sadly, shaking his head. "the wizard has totally destroyed other people too. We can't move in to take him down without letting her have a piece of him too."

As the sound of an engine began to fill the air, Olivia and Elliot glanced at each other in confusion before turning their attention back to Munch.

Munch simply wore a satisfied look, his plan was coming together beautifully. Olivia and Elliot had been rescued, they were well on their way to restoring Elliot's good name, and soon the wizard; who had been hell bent on destroying everything he and his friends had stood for, everything that had made them who they were - soon, imminently, any second now, he would have to face them all. It felt good to not only uncover a genuine, widespread clone conspiracy, but to find that people were listening to him AND about to take action. Finally. The next time he told them something important, such as his concerns about who was really watching them all through the city surveillance camera network, they would actually listen to him.

The tide. Had. Turned, for John Munch.

Just as he was already contemplating recruiting his friends as an elite squad of private investigators, working to expose coverups and mysterious disappearances his thoughts were interrupted by the realisation that the sound of the engine had become much closer and then stopped.

Munch looked up and smiled. " _Dana_. Now we can go in."

Dana Lewis pulled off her motorcycle helmet, and placed it on her bike, a look of pure determination emanating from her.

"Glad you called me, and thanks for breaking me out of prison - you are pretty well connected Munch." Dana said.

"I'm starting to realise that!" Olivia said.

"What were you doing in prison? Who'd you shoot?" Elliot asked, half jokingly.

"No One Stabler, I was framed, and through the wizard's mind control, made to confess to things I hadn't even done. Now everyone thinks I'm a cold blooded killer."

"Why?" Elliot asked, confused, "what reason could he have to do that to you?"

"No One really knows that Stabler," said Dana. "He just randomly picked my name out of a hat and chose to ruin my life. I'm just pissed the mind control worked on me. Thanks to Munch though, I can think for myself again. We ready to take this bastard down?"

"Oh, I'm ready," Olivia said. "Very ready."

As they approached the old, battered door to the shack, Elliot stepped back prepared to kick it down when Olivia stepped forward, placed one hand on the door and pushed slightly. The rotting wooden door creaked loudly before falling forwards easily, leaving the doorway open for them to just walk right through.

"This castle isn't quite what he thinks it is," Fin said, looking amused.

"His sense of self importance never ceases to amaze me," Munch said. "In his mind this is a glorious castle, with the sheep; his army, guarding the impenetrable door."

Elliot laughed, "he is pretty damn delusional."

"Yes, he is," laughed Munch.

They all took a moment to turn around and glance at the sheep milling around on the small patch of grass outside. The thought that the wizard thought these docile creatures were actually a fearsome army, descending them all into a fit of laughter.

Once they had finally composed themselves, they walked through the doorway, stepping over the completely penetrable door, and quickly regained their focus.

With it being a run down shack and not a palace at all, they located the wizard's lair in less time that it took to kidnap Sergeant Benson. Pushing open the door, they all moved quickly in, and within seconds were face to face with the wizard...the old wooden chair he was seated upon, creaking as he stood in surprise.

"You," said Olivia angrily as she stepped forward. "Have some serious explaining to do."

The wizard paled instantly, the sight before him causing him to feel faint;

The woman he had kidnapped, frozen and cloned, whose life he had made an unbelievable uncharacteristic pattern of repeated abuse and disjointed, forgotten memories.

The man he was overly obsessed with, who could not be cloned, so he had tried to destroy his name, his memory, the essence of who he was.

The woman who he had so randomly turned from a decent, awesome person into a killer for no reason whatsoever.

The man he had silenced by making sure he said less and less, knowing that he would be the one to uncover the truth otherwise.

And the man who pretty much remained the same - but was brainwashed nonetheless into not bothering to look for Elliot Stabler, just like all the others.

These people were standing in front of him, together, and all looking pretty damn angry with him.

His attention turned to Elliot Stabler, who stepped forward, standing beside Olivia, his anger and distaste clear. The wizard suddenly felt very afraid, his plan was failing, these people were back, and his army had just let them walk right up.

"Why the hell did you set out to destroy my life?" shouted Dana, as the wizard shrunk back in fear.

"Why the FUCK, did you do this to us all?" Elliot said, doing his best to remain reasonably calm despite wanting to rip the idiots head off, because he didn't want him turn and run away - the old shack was literally falling down around them as it was, a chase, or even any sudden movements, wouldn't do it any good.

"I...I….made you all great! Can't you see? Olivia...your life was nothing...I started a new you, a new life and it's so perfect. You've been through so much - so much at my hands, to mould you and make you grow into this... _this._..you've never been happier!"

"Never been happier?"

The squad turned to look at Sergeant Benson walked hesitantly into the room, Tucker alongside her, holding her hand.

Olivia's eyes widened and she shook her head at the sight "Really? He just kidnapped you, you're holding his hand now?"

"Yes," Clone Olivia smiled, "he loves me, and that's all I need to be happy...just someone...anyone...anyone at all really!"

"Oh this just gets worse," Olivia said as she looked at Elliot, who just shook his head in disbelief.

"You see?" said the wizard, feeling slightly confident. "She has a boyfriend _and_ a baby, therefore her life is perfect! and that is all thanks to me - _I_ did this! Five years of shaping her, and she has grown into this!"

"Five years?" Clone Olivia said, shaking her head. "Everything that's happened over the last five years has all been down to you?"

"Yes, isn't it wonderful? Arent you happy?" smiled the wizard.

Clone Olivia chewed her lip thoughtfully, before dropping her hand from Tuckers and walking purposely over to the wizard, stopping only when she was inches from him.

"I've been in the same room as Elliot Stabler and I've seen him with Olivia - he's not what you said he was - he's not what you made me believe he was!"

"He is Olivia, look, just look at him," the wizard said with urgency. "He is like a coiled snake ready to pounce and attack me - attack any of us at any moment, see - he's violent, he...he wouldn't let Olivia have a life, or...or a baby!"

Everyone turned to glance at Elliot, who was simply standing there looking bemused, in addition, of course, to exuding a special kind of hotness without really doing anything at all.

Elliot just shrugged and smiled, "I think you need to get over this crush you have on me, cause it's never gonna happen."

Dana laughed. Olivia smiled, and the wizard shook his head in sorrow.

"Everything I've been through?" Clone Olivia asked.

"She has been through utter hell...again...and again….and again….and again...and…" Tucker said.

"Yeah, we get it," Fin said, cutting him off.

"You did _all_ that to me?" Clone Olivia asked, shocked. "Why?"

The wizard shrugged. "Because I could, and it was great to watch, and it built you up….it.."

The wizard was shocked when Clone Olivia drew back her arm and punched him squarely in the face.

He fell backwards, in a crumpled heap on the floor, as Dana stepped forward with a smirk, grabbing his arm, and hauling him to his feet.

"Nice one, Sergeant Benson," laughed Fin.

Clone Olivia smiled, the sense of satisfaction she felt at punching him, was euphoric.

"Where's the baby Sergeant Benson?" Olivia asked softly. "Where's Noah?"

"He's was in the freezer - the wizard swapped him for a clone baby - hey!" she paused, walking over to Olivia and taking her hand on hers, "I have my clone baby and my clone loving boyfriend, so I'm happy to go off into the sunset - but I don't need a real baby as well as a clone one. You defrost Noah and take him home. You and Elliot...you could be his parents."

"Thank you," Olivia whispered as she pulled her clone into a hug momentarily, before breaking away with a smile.

"What are we going to do with him then?" Dana asked.

"Well," said Elliot, stepping forward and smiling as the wizard immediately stepped back, shrinking like a frightened rabbit as Elliot stared hard at him. "I think the sentence should fit the crime."

Olivia smirked, "I agree, what do you have in mind?"

"Well, how about we stick him in a freezer then we all talk crap about him for years, and all those people he brainwashed, once they are out of his control, and can think for themselves - we can make sure they forget all about him and don't even bother looking for him." Elliot said with a satisfied smile.

"Freeze him, treat him as if he is insignificant and slate him now and again?" Dana asked, "sounds good, but I owe this son of a bitch something too."

The wizard recoiled as Dana swiftly stepped forward and slapped him, hard.

The wizard dropped to the floor in an over dramatic, exaggerated fashion, as Dana stood over him, looking down at his crumpled form. "I thought you were a big powerful wizard - but it's all smoke and mirrors -you're really just a frightened, inadequate little man."

The wizard looked up in horror as the squad gathered around him, the faces of the people whose lives he had ruined, staring down at him.

"Don't freeze me! Please! I beg you - don't do it!" he cried.

As he looked in desperation at the people around him, he saw only distaste, anger, disbelief and scorn. He would get no sympathy, no help, his fate was sealed...like he would be soon….in a cryogenic chamber.

"Noooooo! Noooooo!" he screamed in a high pitched whiny voice, not becoming of a powerful wizard _at_ all, as Elliot reached down and easily hauled him to his feet, dragging him through an open door, where Clone Olivia indicated to a large freezer.

"I got Noah out as soon as I convinced Tucker to unkidnap… dekidnap….unabduct...err...to let me go!" Clone Olivia said, before dropping her voice to a slightly evil tone, which made Olivia suddenly take on a newfound respect for her, "It's ready for him."

"Nooooooo!" Screamed the wizard, "I'll take it all back! I'll make everyone believe the last five years didn't happen...they'll believe anything I say…."

"Not any more - I kicked the gate down and let the "army" out - even the sheep grazing on the patch of grass outside have lost interest in you now," said Clone Olivia.

"Good move Sergeant!" laughed Olivia.

"Thank you detective!" laughed Clone Olivia.

"Okay, now that's freaky," said Fin, as he turned to Munch, who only shrugged and laughed.

In less time that it took to abduct clone olivia, the wizard was shut in the freezer, and Elliot took great satisfaction in locking him in.

Turning to Olivia, he smiled and placed his arms around her, pulling her close to him and capturing her lips with his. They deepened their kiss, her hands roaming across his back, while his tangled in her hair, before travelling down past her waist, and cupping her ass.

"Olivia! Elliot!" called Fin , shaking his head.

Coming to their senses, and breaking their kiss, Olivia and Elliot glanced around, remembering where they were, and realizing they had become lost in the moment briefly.

Fin looked amused, Dana looked impressed, and Munch glanced at his watch.

"What is their make out session holding up now?" Asked Fin, "we've dealt with the wizard.

"Just checking how much longer it will be," smiled Munch, "before Noah defrosts."

Olivia and Elliot smiled warmly at each other as he took her hand in his.

"We have a baby Liv. I love you."

 **All that remains now is the epilogue, which is uploaded and ready now. They need to get back to the squad room to restore order to SVU - and we really should check on Carisi and Rollins!**


	8. Chapter 8

Dana just had to face the wizard, she really needed to exact some revenge! Now let's see where this whole experience leaves our favourite squad.

 **Epilogue**

Olivia sat at her desk, looking across at Elliot. He looked up immediately and smiled at her. The squad room was calm and their lives although changed, had now been seized back and order and justice had been served.

Fin placed two coffees down on their desks, along with a box of donuts, casting an apologetic glance in their direction…"I guess this is welcome back - and sorry, mind control and cryogenics - that stuff is some serious shit. "

"No problem Fin," Olivia smiled.

The door to the captain's office opened and two decorated, uniformed officers stepped out, casting glances at Olivia and Elliot before heading straight out. Within seconds Munch emerged from the office and dropped down into a chair at the desk which he had previously called his.

"They're _finally_ gone, this took a lot of explaining, and i'm not sure how much they really believed. They didn't attempt to have me committed though, which I take to be a good sign."

"They accept all this? About clones, and mind control, and Sergeant Benson?" Carisi said, as he approached them, his eyes wide and enthralled by the events of the last few days.

"They have agreed to organise DNA testing so we can locate any other clones within the NYPD, as it'll take some time to go through all of the freezers," Munch said.

"Unfortunately as I'm officially the highest ranking out of all us, I have been delegated to hold down the fort here - Liv, I beg you, take the sergeant's exam." Munch said.

"I'd kind of like to just go out there and do what I was doing Munch - with my partner. I want to pick up where I left off." Olivia said. "But maybe I will, sorry, but you'll just have to be in charge for a while."

Munch sighed and shook his head, then paused, wondering if he could have the entire team working on some additional investigations now that he was in charge, after all, they had done a pretty good job at dealing with cloning and mind control.

"So what about us? Where does that leave us?" Olivia asked.

"Err...well I thought it left us in a relationship, and parents to Noah - moving in together, where we wake in each others arms every morning…"

"Elliot!" Olivia said, glancing around at Fin, Munch and Carisi in embarrassment, "I meant the squad..not _us_ , I know where it leaves _us_...and I'm looking forward to waking with you every morning, then coming here and busting perps, don't worry about that," Olivia said as she smiled at Elliot.

Elliot returned her smile, and the two paused for a moment, silently contemplating how very lucky and happy they both were now, while the rest of the squad stood impatiently around, waiting for them to pay attention.

Munch coughed and broke Olivia and Elliot from their moment, causing them to laugh and remember where they were.

"Well, now that Sergeant Benson has run off with clone Tucker," began Munch.

"That is seriously messed up, what's wrong with her?" Fin interrupted.

Elliot shook his head "well she _is_ a clone, and turns out Tucker is too, and has been for a long time, so let's leave them to it, he knows he would _never_ have a chance with the real Olivia."

Olivia smiled, "Can you imagine?"

As Olivia began to laugh, the rest of the squad joined in, until the whole room was filled with the sounds of their laughter.

The sound carried off down the hall into the room where Amanda had finally reached the end of Oz - _and_ watched the extras disc. Ejecting the disc, she placed it back in the box, and smiled. This had been time very well spent, and she was sure nothing much had happened in the time it took her to binge watch the entire box set, without taking a break.

Standing, she smiled a satisfied smile, as she stretched then yawned, and made her way out of the room, as she walked towards the source of the laughter.

As Amanda entered the squad room, she stared in confusion at her colleagues, who all turned to look as she came in, realising as their eyes fell on her that this whole thing might take quite some explaining.

Casting a confused glance at Elliot, she directed her attention to Olivia, "What's going on Sarge? Did I miss anything?"

 **The end!**

 **Thank you for reading this story, it was great therapy to write it! I really appreciate your reviews and PM's. You guys are awesome, thank you for your support with these crazy stories I write!**


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